12 Arrested on U.S. Plane to Be Released

[mikeytherat]

HAARLEM, Netherlands (AP) - Prosecutors said Thursday they found no evidence of a terrorist threat aboard a Northwest Airlines flight to India that returned to Amsterdam, and they are releasing all 12 passengers arrested after the emergency landing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6035881,00.html

mikey_the_rat

[acmavm]

1. Another really screwed up situation thanks to the extreme

paranoia caused by these 'terraists' plots.

[Xipe Totec]

2. If we're terrified, guess who's winning n/t

[AndyA]

3. Meanwhile, we have no idea what is being received at our ports.

Nor do we know what is in the cargo holds of the airplanes we fly on.

Nor are our borders properly secured.

So one really has to wonder, how dangerous is it? If all these things can be essentially wide open, where is the danger? And if there is indeed danger, why hasn't our GOP-led government addressed it in the five years since 9/11? How much time do they think they have to tend to it?

The message they're speaking isn't the same as the message their actions indicate. So what is the danger level?

And they wonder why fewer people are falling for it each time. The terrorists we need to worry about in America are named George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, The Republican Party, and The Religious Right.

[hedgehog]

8. That's a good point , but it's also asking if you'd rather be hung

or shot. This isn't an either/or situation. Passengers and cargo should be checked. I don't know what to say about our borders. On the other hand, secure the borders, secure the ports and what protects you from home grown terrorists like Timothy McVey?

[orwell]

4. Original report...

...beathless headlines everywhere.

Retractions...page 10.

Look, over here, a bright shiny object! Terra, Terra, Terra!

It's no wonder that the public is so misinformed...

[snappyturtle]

5. Well, their program is working......

getting us to turn on one another....maybe, feed on one another, would be more descriptive. FEAR,fear,fear,fear,fear,,,,,,,,everything and anybody......oh we so need the DHS. :sarcasm:

[hedgehog]

6. There are very few details on this incident.

However, the various stories seem to agree on two points

1. These men were handing out items to each other and walking up and down the aisle. One story last night indicated that the seat belt sign was still on at the time.

2. They failed to follow instructions from the flight attendants.

Under the circumstances, I would be suspicious myself. Remember, these weren't the only dark skinned men on the plane and probably not the only Moslems. (One story indicates that these men were wearing clothes associated with Indian Moslems.) It was the behavior that got everyone jumpy, not the fact that these guys were Moslems.

[Bacchus39]

7. me too

n/t

[leesa]

9. I believe I see items 1 and 2 on every flight I've ever been on. Get a

grip man. It's your fear that allows the Bush Crime Family to control us this way.

[Xeric]

10. Exactly

They want people scared.

All you folks that buy into this and are so terrified, by all means stay home.

More space for the rest of us.

[hedgehog]

11. LOL, I'm not terrified.

I'm just suggesting that we don't have all the details and none of us were there. AS it happens, I'll be flying a lot in two weeks and I'm glad that someone is paying attention. Too bad they weren't as well trained on 9/11. Because we put security in the hands of the airlines and let them put on a cheap facade of security, over 3,000 people died and the scene was set for an idiot to drag us into two wars and thousands more have dies.

[Xeric]

12. Hope your trip isn't ruined

by some nervous nellie who tries to be an amateur "profiler". The hysteria in this case probably ruined some folks trips not to mention scaring the beejesus out of the rest unnecessarily. All it takes is some paranoid nut (and I've seen a few even here on DU) who think they can read people's minds just by looking at them to turn the plane around. This is being encouraged by the Homeland Security frauds who need to justify this bullshit.

[hedgehog]

13. These guys were picked out by the flight crew and marshals,

not paranoid passengers. For what it's worth, even before 9/11 there was growing concern about passengers (usually drunk) failing to follow orders from the flight attendants. More than one plane made an unplanned stop so that an unruly passenger could be removed. Again, experienced people saw a group of men engaging in odd behavior. These men did something to draw attention to themselves on board a plane full of of people who looked like them. They were not picked out because they were twelve dark skinned men on board a plane full of whites. On examination, the men were carrying "a large number of cell phones and other equipment" The men failed to follow instructions. That's when the pilot turned around.

We tend to take flying for granted and don't realize that it is not the same as taking the cross town bus. I've been in more than one situation in industrial plants where certain safety instructions were given that seemed ludicrous but actually had a good reason behind them. (Usually a fatality.)Behaviors that would be annoying or harmless elsewhere can be hazardous aboard a plane. Given the threat of a fire in a confined space, I'm amazed that matches or lighters are allowed on at all. At the very least, people should follow the instructions of the flight attendants. I don't want to hear anyone's theory that cell phones or lap tops won't interfere with the operation of the plane. As far as I'm concerned, these guys are are irresponsible as the jerks I've encountered who wouldn't wear safety glasses when required.

[jilln]

18. Are you sure matches and lighters are allowed on planes?

They were initially because of the tobacco lobby – huge surprise – but I thought they changed it later and they are no longer allowed.

And their behavior may not have been so strange. I always see people passing stuff around on planes. Maybe it was food or drinks or whatever. And maybe they didn't follow instructions because they don't speak the language. Or maybe they really were jerks who don't think the rules apply to them, like about 80% of the public. In any case, I still think if they were white, they would not have been detained.

I think the problem here is the hysteria. Every day every single one of us is much more likely to come into contact with things that ARE killing us: air pollution, contaminated food, second-hand smoke, etc. Where's the hysteria over that? Those things already kill far more people than terrorists, but dealing with those problems costs corporations money so nothing will be done. Common sense is one thing, but let's cut the hysteria and racism.

[varun]

14. Jet alert suspects 'to be freed'

More "hysteria" about "terrorist looking passengers"...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5283476.stm

All 12 passengers arrested after a US airliner returned to Amsterdam will be released, Dutch prosecutors say.
Northwest Airlines flight 42, bound for Mumbai (Bombay) in India, changed course over Germany and flew back to Schiphol airport on Wednesday.

The 12 men, said to be of Asian appearance, reportedly aroused suspicion by fiddling with mobile phones and plastic bags...

"From the statement of suspects and witnesses, no evidence could be brought forward that these men were about to commit an act of violence," a prosecution statement said...

[shain from kane]

15. Is the story changing? When was it reported that plastic bags were

involved in the incident?

[zreosumgame]

16. maybe they mean the barf bags?

[jilln]

17. Are there explosive plastic bags now?

I call dibs on the transparent luggage patent!!!

[struggle4progress]

19. It was a bad dream, say detainees

Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI: The 12 Indian businessmen who were detained in Amsterdam on Wednesday arrived home on Saturday. They were angry but felt greatly relieved and thankful to the Indian diplomats. They want to forget the whole sordid episode as a "bad dream." ...

He told The Hindu that the Amsterdam police did not behave badly with them but confirmed that they were handcuffed and treated like prisoners. "They suspected us of being terrorists because of the dress some of us wore and the beard."

Mr. Chothani said that all his group members did on the aircraft was to exchange seats among themselves without asking the crew and were spotted by the sky marshals in plainclothes.

He denied that the marshals manhandled them in the flight or herded them into the rear of the aircraft but said that on landing, they handed over the group members to the police who whisked them away and handcuffed them ...

http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/27/stories/2006082719060800.htm

[OzarkDem]

20. Another GOP hoax

Just like the FAUX journalists who were "kidnapped" in Gaza.